Abstract
Objective: To determine whether preeclampsia causes fetal cardiac cell damage by assessing umbilical artery NT-proBNP, cardiac troponin I and homocysteine. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 73 fetuses between 26 and 40 weeks of gestation was performed. Thirty-three healthy mothers’ fetuses were control group (Group I). While 12 mildly pre-eclamptic mothers’ fetuses constituted Group II, 28 fetuses of severe pre-eclamptic mothers were Group III. Results: Umbilical cord mean NT-proBNP levels of Group I, II and III are 520.8 ± 404.5 pg/ml; 664.2 ± 215.9 pg/ml; and 1932.8 ± 2979.5 pg/ml, respectively (p = 0.0001). The number of neonates with NT-proBNP > 500 pg/mL that indicates severe cardiac damage is higher in Group III (p = 0.001). The mean homocysteine levels are also statistically significantly higher in Group III. Cardiac troponin I levels are not different between the groups (p = 0.46). Conclusion: Increased NT-proBNP and homocysteine might not only indicate some degree of in-utero cardiac cell damage but also feto–placental endothelial injury in the fetuses of severe pre-eclamptic mothers. Our finding that shows no evidence of correlation between cardiac troponin I levels with cell damage and endothelial injury requires further research.
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